Teen Smartphone Addiction National Survey 2018 - Powered By With Support From - Screen Education
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Te e n S m a r t p h o n e
Addiction National
Survey 2018
Powered By
With Support FromContents
Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…1
Background…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..2
Statistics..…………………..…………..……………………………………………………………………………………………..3
Summary………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….5
Discussion………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…6
Implications…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………11
Copyright 2018 Screen Education © All Rights Reserved.1
Acknowledgements
The organizations that partnered on the Teen Smartphone Addiction National Survey are concerned
about the toll smartphone addiction is taking on our children. Therefore, in an act of public service
each organization donated its time, services, and resources to introduce valuable new insights into the
national conversation about smartphone addiction.
Screen Education is dedicated to tackling issues at the intersection of screens and human wellness
through research, education, and consulting. Michael Mercier organized this project and provided subject
matter expertise, questionnaire development, analysis, and reporting. To learn more about Screen
Education visit www.ScreenEducation.org.
EMI Research Solutions is a leading online sample provider to the market research industry. They
leverage more than 150 partners in over 95 countries to provide the B2B or consumer sample that best
fits their client’s project. Michael Holmes, Brian Lamar, and Amy Carley contributed sample, survey
programming, hosting, and project management. To learn more about EMI, visit www.EMI-RS.com.
Stark Statistical Consulting provides statistical support for researchers, innovators, and entrepreneurs.
Glenn Stark contributed questionnaire development, data analysis, and reporting. To learn more about
Stark Statistical Consulting, visit www.StarkStatistics.com.
Anxious Creations provides state-of-the-art website design, development and creative services to get the
most out of your digital marketing budget. Gina Young contributed the design of this report. To learn
more about Anxious Creations visit www.AnxiousCreations.com.
The Detroit Chapter of the American Marketing Association offers valuable professional development
opportunities and a place for marketers to connect and share knowledge throughout Southeast Michigan.
Holly Shier and Dave Pagnucco administered and hosted the webinar. To learn more about the Detroit
Chapter of the American Marketing Association, visit www.AMADetroit.org.
Signoi creates smart technology solutions for decoding cultural signals in an intuitively human way. It’s a
new form of quantitative semiotics. Andrew Jeavons contributed text analytics of open-ended responses.
To learn more about Signoi, visit www.Signoi.com.
Copyright 2018 Screen Education © All Rights Reserved.Background
2
Exploratory Research The sample consists of 1,017 13- to 18-year-olds.
The Teen Smartphone Addiction National Survey This sample size is sufficient for all statistics using
questionnaire was based upon exploratory the full sample to have margins of error of 3% or
research that Screen Education conducted in less. All 1,017 respondents included in this
2016, 2017, and 2018. statistical analysis completed the entire survey, so
this criteria applies to all questions reported here.
This exploratory research included informal
qualitative research with college students, formal EMI’s proprietary SWIFT (Sampling with
research with teens attending overnight summer Integrated Fingerprinting Technology) dashboard
camps that don’t permit smartphones, and formal was used to identify and remove bots and
and informal research with a variety of junior high duplicate respondents to ensure the 1,017
and high school stakeholders, including students, respondents are unique, human respondents. All
teachers, librarians, parents, administrators, and IT respondents had a smartphone.
professionals.
The genders of the respondents were evenly split,
Screen Education’s exploratory research with 48.2% self-reporting as “male”, 49.5% self-
generated unique insights into teen smartphone reporting as “female”, and 2.4% identifying as
addiction. We learned that teens were well-aware “other”.
of the problems that smartphones cause them,
that a large number want to limit their screen Middle school students (grades 7 and 8)
time and have attempted to do so, that comprised 32.9% of the overall sample, and high-
smartphones place an emotional burden on school students comprised the remaining 67.1%.
them, that they lament that their smartphone Quotas were used to ensure an unbiased
addiction is an obstacle to fully engaging in life, distribution between the male and female
that it diminishes their productivity and social life, respondents, and between the six grade levels
and that many want help addressing the problem. represented by this survey.
Survey Objective The geographic distribution of respondents
The objective of the Teen Smartphone Addiction represents the geographic distribution of the
National Survey was to validate the insights United States. The 1,017 respondents represent
Screen Education generated from its exploratory all 50 states, and 961 different zip codes across
research, and to introduce these insights into the the country. A statistical comparison of the
national conversation regarding teen smartphone number respondents to the total populations of
addiction. the four census regions (Northeast, Midwest,
South, and West) indicated that there is no
statistical evidence of geographic bias on a
Method regional level. There is a slight bias towards
EMI Research Solutions recruited respondents urban areas, with 87.6% of respondents reporting
through the EMI partner network, and conducted predominantly urban zip codes, compared to
a 9-minute online survey between April 18-25, 85.3% of the United States population as a whole.
2018.
Copyright 2018 Screen Education © All Rights Reserved.3
Statistics
SMARTPHONE ADDICTION SMARTPHONES & SOCIALIZING
60% of teens’ friends, in their estimation, are
addicted to their phones 33% of teens spend more time socializing with
close friends online, rather than face-to-face
71% of teens know that companies design apps
to be addictive 69% of teens wish they could spend more time
socializing with their close friends face-to-face,
and less time socializing online
SMARTPHONES & STRESS
52% of teens, when they spend time with their
friends on the weekends, have extended stretches
of time when they are all silently sitting together,
58% of teens feel that people generally expect
not talking to each other, while on their
them to respond immediately to notifications
smartphones
41% of teens feel overwhelmed every day by the
quantity of notifications they receive REDUCING SMARTPHONE USE
36% of teens witness someone being bullied
online every week 65% of teens wish they had a greater ability to
self-limit the amount of time they spend on their
89% teens find it upsetting when they witness phone
someone being bullied online
68% of teens have attempted to reduce the
31% of teens have seen online bullying result in amount of time they spend on their phone
physical violence
69% of teens succeeded in reducing the amount
73% of teens feel that social media use of time they spent on their phone
contributes to conditions that can result in school
shootings 26% of teens wish that someone - for example,
their parents, their school -- would help them
45% of teens witness online drama every day reduce their screen time by imposing some
reasonable time limits
38% of teens witness online gossip every day
37% of teens have tried to persuade a friend to
57% of teens are disturbed when they witness spend less time on their phone
someone being gossiped about online
42% of teens are fearful of being gossiped about
online
Copyright 2018 Screen Education © All Rights Reserved.4
Statistics
SMARTPHONES & SCHOOL COMPULSIVE SMARTPHONE USE
67% of teens say their school bans the use of
32% of teens want to stop using their phone, but
phones during class
find themselves unable to do so, every day
53% of teens whose schools ban phones during
70% of teens have a list of 3-5 apps or sites that
class are glad they do so
they continuously cycle through at any
opportunity
15% of teens whose schools don’t ban phones
during class wish their school would implement a
ban SMARTPHONES & PRODUCTIVITY
72% of teens witness students using phones
during class every day to watch videos, play 30% of teens end up not doing something they’d
games, and use social media like to do every day simply because they spent
time on their phone instead
35% of teens do not consider this behavior ---
using phones during class to watch videos, play 35% of teens end up not doing something they
games, and use social media --- to be rude should do every day simply because they're
spending time on their phone instead
9 is the number of times/hour, on average, teens
check their phones while doing homework
SMARTPHONES & SLEEP
41% of teens feel that their phone is an obstacle
to getting the best grades they can in school 80% of teens typically spend time on their phone
after they go to bed, but before falling asleep
SMARTPHONES & ATTENTION SPAN 22% of teens spend 30-60 minutes on their phone
before falling asleep, 18% spend 1-2 hours, 11%
spend 2-3 hours, and 11% spend more than 3
49% of teens feel that their smartphone shortens hours
their attention span
56% of teens get online every day with the
intention of doing one thing, and get sidetracked
doing something else for an extended period of
time
Copyright 2018 Screen Education © All Rights Reserved.Summary
5
Teen smartphone addiction is widespread, and a engagement; a majority of teens say they have
large number of teens are aware that Silicon long stretches of time when they sit in silence
Valley intentionally designs apps to be addictive. together with their friends while everyone is on
their phones.
While social media has its benefits, it also can
facilitate toxic exchanges that emotionally burden Teens are losing a substantial amount of sleep to
teens. Many teens witness online gossip, drama, their smartphone. A huge number of teens use
and bullying very frequently, and they find this their smartphones after going to bed, and many
upsetting. are staying up on their smartphones for 1, 2, 3 or
even more hours.
Many teens feel overwhelmed every day by the
large number of notifications they receive, and Teens know they are less productive because they
feel pressure to respond because most people can’t stop using their smartphones, and many
expect them to respond immediately. regret this. Many teens end up not doing
something they’d like to do -- every day -- simply
Smartphone addiction erodes academic because they spent time on their phone instead.
performance. One reason for this is that many And slightly more end up not doing something
teens use their phones recreationally in the they should do every day simply because they're
classroom and while doing homework. For this spending time on their phone instead.
reason, a majority of teens say their smartphone
is an obstacle to getting the best grades they are Teens are aware that smartphone shorten their
capable of getting. Consequently, many of the attention span. Nearly a majority of teens feel
teens attending schools that ban smartphones in that their smartphone shortens their attention
the classroom are glad they do so. span, and a clear majority have the experience --
every day – of getting online with the intention of
Many teens admit to using their phones doing one thing, and getting sidetracked doing
compulsively. For example, many teens every day something else for an extended period of time.
have the experience of wanting to stop using
their phone, but finding themselves unable to do
so. Others have a list of 3-5 apps that they Teens are frustrated by the problems their
continuously cycle through at any opportunity to smartphones cause, and therefore want to reduce
check for notifications. their screen time. A substantial majority wish
they had a greater ability to self-limit their phone
use, and have tried to reduce their screen time.
Teens are frustrated by how infrequently they Many have succeeded at some point in their lives
socialize with friends face-to-face, vis-à-vis online. in reducing their screen time. A good number of
A strong majority want to spend more time teens wish that someone would impose
socializing face-to-face with friends. However, reasonable screen time limits on them.
even when teens do socialize with friends face-to-
face, their phones still can be an obstacle to social
Copyright 2018 Screen Education © All Rights Reserved.6
Discussion
Teens estimate that 60% of their friends The Teen Smartphone Addiction National Survey
are addicted to their smartphone. indicates that 71% of teens currently know that
Silicon Valley intentionally designs apps to be
A 2016 Common Sense Media survey measured addictive.
the ubiquity of teen smartphone addiction by
asking teens whether they felt like they were While this level of awareness actually is higher
addicted to their phones. Common Sense Media than we anticipated, our collective goal should be
found that 50% of teens felt addicted to their 100% awareness.
phones.
We also asked teens for their reaction to the fact
Rather than duplicate Common Sense Media’s that Silicon Valley intentionally make apps
measure of the ubiquity of smartphone addiction, addictive. Their reactions ran the spectrum, from
Screen Education wanted to complement it with a thinking it’s good because it makes the apps
different measure that would add dimension to it. more enjoyable, to shock, to acceptance, to
Our exploratory research suggested that teens anger, resentment and frustration.
tend to underestimate their own level of
addiction, yet more objectively assess their Many teens are emotionally burdened
friends’ level of addiction. So we decided that a every day by online bullying, gossip,
good way to provide a complementary measure drama, and notifications.
would be to ask teens to assess the percent of
their friends teens believed to be addicted to Screen Education’s exploratory research revealed
their smartphones. that when teens attend summer camps that don’t
permit smartphones they are actually relieved to
The Teen Smartphone Addiction National Survey escape online drama, bullying, gossip, and the
determined that teens estimate on average that constant barrage of notifications.
60% of their friends are addicted to their
smartphones. Screen Education’s Teen Smartphone Addiction
National Survey confirms that these are frequent
Therefore, we believe that a good estimate of experiences, and that they place an emotional
how many teens are addicted to their phones is burden on teens.
somewhere between Common Sense Media’s
50% measure, and Screen Education’s 60% Online Gossip. One of the reasons online gossip
measure. is such a problem is that phones allow it to
spread so quickly. And teens witness gossip
Some teens don’t know that apps are frequently: 38% witness it every day, and an
designed to be addictive. additional 24% witness it every week.
In 2017 there was considerable news coverage of Online gossip imposes an emotional burden on
the revelation that Silicon Valley intentionally teens --- 57% find witnessing online gossip to be
designs apps to be addictive. If we are going to disturbing, and 42% are fearful of being gossiped
address the problem of smartphone addiction about online.
among teens, then it is crucial that all kids be
made aware of this fact.
Copyright 2018 Screen Education © All Rights Reserved.7
Discussion
.
Online Drama. As with gossip, we found that it does reflects just how toxic the social media
teens witness online drama frequently --- 45% environment can be for them.
witness it every day, and another 29% witness it
every week. Teens admit to accomplishing less
because they can’t stop using their
Teens generally characterized drama as smartphones.
consisting of inappropriate, and nasty, arguments
being carried out publicly on social media. It is commonly understood that smartphone-
addicted teens compulsively use their phones to
Online Bullying. Like online gossip and drama, the exclusion of other activities, and,
teens witness online bullying frequently, with 36% consequently, they accomplish less.
witnessing it every week.
One way to measure teens’ lost productivity is to
And it’s serious --- 31% have seen online bullying determine how often they fail to fulfill their
ultimately result in physical violence. responsibilities as a result of spending time on
their smartphone. The Teen Smartphone Addiction
As a result, online bullying also is upsetting to National Survey found that 35% of teens don’t do
teens --- 89% of those who witness online something they know they should do -- every day
bullying are upset by it. -- simply because they stayed on their phone
instead. Another 33% don’t do something they
Notifications. The Teen Smartphone Addiction should do every week.
National Survey found that 41% of teens feel
overwhelmed every day by the number of Common examples of these unfulfilled
notifications they receive on their phone, with responsibilities were homework and chores.
another 24% feeling overwhelmed every week
Perhaps an even better measure of lost
One of the reasons teens feel overwhelmed by productivity due to compulsive smartphone use is
their notifications is that they feel pressure to how often teens forego doing something they
respond because people expect them to respond actually want to do because stay on their phone
immediately --- 58% feel that others generally instead.
expect them respond immediately to their
notifications. The Teen Smartphone Addiction National Survey
found that 30% of teens every day end up not
Social Media & School Shootings. The Teen doing something they want to do simply because
Smartphone Addiction National Survey revealed they spent time on their phones instead. An
that 73% of teens feel that social media additional 29% don’t do something they’d like to
contributes to conditions that can result in school do every week.
shootings.
Common examples of things they would have
Whether social media technically does or doesn't liked to have done were art, sports, exercise, and
contribute to conditions that result in school doing activities with family and friends.
shootings, the simple fact that teens perceive that
Copyright 2018 Screen Education © All Rights Reserved.8
Discussion
Teens are frustrated by their lack of National Survey asked how many times per hour
face-to-face socializing with close they check their phones while doing homework.
friends. On average teens report checking their
smartphones 9 times per hour --- every 6.5
Screen Education’s exploratory research found minutes --- while doing homework.
teens to be shocked by how much better they get
to know other people when they socialize with Recreational Phone Use in the Classroom.
them face-to-face, rather than online. In many Screen Education’s exploratory research with
instances teens attending summer camps that schools indicated that teachers frequently witness
don’t permit smartphones talked about face-to- teens using their smartphones recreationally
face communication almost as though it were a during class – to watch videos, play games, and
novel experience. use social media.
The Teen Smartphone Addiction National Survey The Teen Smartphone Addiction National Survey
revealed that 33% of teens spend more time confirmed this: 72% of teens witness someone
socializing online with close friends, and less time watching videos, playing games, and using social
socializing face-to-face. media in class, every day.
It also revealed that a full 69% wish they could Shockingly, a full 35% of teens do not consider
spend more time socializing with close friends this behavior to be rude.
face-to-face, and less time socializing online.
Teens Like Smartphone Bans. Sixty-seven
Even when kids do socialize face-to-face, their percent (67%) of teens attend schools that ban
omni-present smartphones can still be an phone use during class. Of that 67% at schools
obstacle to fully engaging with each other. The that ban phones, 53% are glad they do so.
Teen Smartphone Addiction National Survey
indicates that 52% of teens sit around in silence Teens stay on their phones for hours
staring at their smartphones for extended periods after going to bed.
of time when they are together with friends on
the weekends. Screen Education’s exploratory research revealed
that teens were shocked by how much better they
Smartphone addiction compromises the slept while attending summer camps that ban
learning environment. smartphones. They were nearly unanimous in
saying this was because they weren’t staying up
Smartphone Addiction Hurts Grades. Forty- using their smartphones for several hours after
one percent (41%) of teens say that their going to bed.
smartphone is an obstacle to getting the best
grades they are capable of getting. The Teen Smartphone Addiction National Survey
confirms this --- 80% of teens typically spend
Recreational Phone Use During Homework. time on their phone after they go to bed.
Because it is well-known that teens use their
smartphones recreationally while doing Of that 80%, 22% spend 30-60 minutes on their
homework, the Teen Smartphone Addiction smartphone before falling asleep. However, a full
Copyright 2018 Screen Education © All Rights Reserved.9
Discussion
40% spend an hour or more, with 18% spending Teens know smartphones shorten
1-2 hours, 11% spending 2-3 hours, and 11% their attention span.
spending more than 3 hours.
It is well-known that smartphone use shortens
Losing this much sleep day after day likely attention spans. Therefore, we wanted to
impacts cognitive function, learning, and determine whether teens were conscious of this
academic performance. effect on them --- whether they felt that their
smartphone shortened their own attention
Teens admit to compulsively using their span.
smartphones.
The Teen Smartphone Addiction National Survey
People typically describe themselves as revealed that 49% of teens feel that their
“addicted” to their smartphone when they use it smartphone shortens their attention span.
compulsively --- that is, when they are unable to
stop themselves from using their phones, even Additionally, 56% of teens get online every day
when they want or need to stop. The Teen with the intention of doing one thing, and get
Smartphone Addiction National Survey measured sidetracked doing something else for an
some of these compulsive behaviors. extended period of time.
Inability To Stop Using Smartphone. The Teens are frustrated by the many
inability to stop using their smartphone --- problems smartphone addiction
despite their desire to stop --- is a daily
causes them, and they want to reduce
experience for many teens. Thirty-two percent
(32%) of teens every day have the experience of their screen time.
wanting to stop using their phone, but finding Screen Education’s exploratory research
themselves unable to do so. suggested that a large proportion of teens are
very conscious of the problems that
Many Teens Engage In Cycling. One of the smartphone addiction causes them, and they
compulsive behaviors that Screen Education has therefore want to reduce their screen time.
identified is “cycling”. Cycling is the compulsion
to consecutively go through a small set of favorite The Teen Smartphone Addiction National Survey
apps or sites to seek new notifications, at any sought to measure this desire to reduce
opportunity, over and over again. smartphone use. We did this by examining 2
modes of reducing smartphone use: (1) by self-
The Teen Smartphone Addiction National Survey limiting screen time, and (2) by having screen
indicates that 70% of teens admit to having 3-5 time limits imposed on them by a parent or a
apps or sites that they continuously cycle through school.
at any opportunity.
Copyright 2018 Screen Education © All Rights Reserved.10
Discussion
Self-limiting Screen Time. The Teen Smartphone screen time.
Addiction National Survey indicates that a very
strong majority of teens want to self-limit their Imposed Screen Time Limits. Twenty-six percent
screen time. Sixty-five percent (65%) of teens (26%) of teens say they wish someone, such as
wish they had a greater ability to self-limit their their school or their parents, would impose
screen time, 68% had actually attempted in the reasonable screen time limits on them.
past to reduce their screen time, while 69% have Additionally, of those attending schools that ban
succeeded in the past in reducing their screen smartphone use in the classroom, 53% are glad
time. Thirty-seven percent (37%) actually had their school does this.
attempted to persuade a friend to reduce their
Copyright 2018 Screen Education © All Rights Reserved.Implications
11
Screen Education’s Teen Smartphone Addiction elicit the personal qualities required to break
National Survey indicates that smartphone smartphone addiction. These qualities include a
addiction causes teens many problems, that teens deep consciousness of the problems the
are fully aware of these problems, that they are smartphones are causing them, and an ability to
troubled by them, and that they therefore wish exercise self-discipline and self-denial, restraint,
they could reduce their smartphone use. and mutual support in order to succeed at
reducing smartphone use.
There are two general approaches we can take to
help teens reduce their smartphone use: (1) we Cultivating these qualities will require broader
can find ways to impose reasonable limits on cultural change --- it will require the cultural
smartphone use, while simultaneously (2) embracement of the virtue of reducing
cultivating within teens the ability to self-limit smartphone use, cultural support for instilling
their screen time. these qualities in young people, and some
universal standards for when it is, and isn’t,
In order to do this we must embrace values that acceptable to use our smartphones.
facilitate reducing smartphone use --- values that
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